Nash County authorities say the baby boy was about 4 to 6 hours old at the time he was found in the back of the truck at a warehouse at Dale Bone Farms about 10 a.m. in the Sandy Cross community near Interstate 95.
Raul Vasquez, 31, said he saw the baby moving when he went to his truck for a break from his job. He had been at work since 7 a.m., but investigators said it was unclear when the child was placed there.
The baby was wrapped in a white towel and teal green blanket that had a teddy bear on it.
Investigators at the scene Monday dusted the truck for fingerprints in hope of being able to identify the child's mother. Officers were also checking clinics and hospitals for the mother, saying it is likely she would need medical attention.
Under North Carolina's
Safe Surrender law
, which took effect in 2001, mothers can surrender a child with a responsible adult, such a law officer or hospital worker, without fear of prosecution. The law requires the baby be unharmed and be younger than 7 days old.
"Something like this is entirely different," Jenkins said. "They abandoned the baby here at the warehouse. If they'd taken it to the fire department, according to the law that would've been OK."
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